George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston experienced significant flight delays and an FAA ground stop on the evening of October 13, 2026, after a fiber-optic cable was damaged. The Federal Aviation Administration issued the ground stop for flights bound for IAH due to lost communications caused by the severed cable.
Flight Delays and Airport Coordination
The disruption caused significant flight delays and operational slowdowns at IAH. Houston Airports coordinated closely with airlines and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to manage the disruption and arriving international traffic amid the outage. Nearby airports, including William P. Hobby Airport and other Houston terminal area airports, were not
affected by this incident.
Cause and Repair Efforts
The fiber-optic cable damage occurred earlier on October 13 during construction work by a contractor. Repair crews were on-site throughout the evening working to restore communications and resolve the outage. This follows a similar fiber-optic cable severing incident at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on October 12, which caused flight cancellations and extended delays. The FAA continues efforts to modernize its aging air traffic communications infrastructure.
FAA Statement on Communications Loss
The FAA characterized the situation as a loss of major communications at IAH. The agency warned that the ground stop initially imposed could be expanded and extended. “IAH has lost major communications
and users can expect the current ground stop to be extended and expanded,” the FAA stated on the evening of October 13, 2026.
